The spiritual competence scale: validating a population specific measure of cultural competence with a faith-based sample

David R. Hodge

Abstract

Cultural competence, including more focused forms of cultural competence such as spiritual competence, has been a topic of increasing professional attention over the past decade. Yet, while cultural competence is increasingly viewed as essential to effective service provision, few measure of cultural competence exist. To address the gap, the present study validates a new population-specific measure of spiritual competence with a random national sample of faith-based graduate students. Analysis suggests the eight item scale is a valid and reliable measure of spiritual competence. The instrument is designed to assess levels of competence in educational programs, but with modification it can be used in agency settings, or for individual self-assessment.